diff --git a/selfdrive/loggerd/bootlog.cc b/selfdrive/loggerd/bootlog.cc
index 481b3ee47..520995837 100644
--- a/selfdrive/loggerd/bootlog.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/loggerd/bootlog.cc
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ static kj::Array<capnp::word> build_boot_log() {
 }
 
 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
+  clear_locks(LOG_ROOT);
 
   const std::string path = LOG_ROOT + "/boot/" + logger_get_route_name() + ".bz2";
   LOGW("bootlog to %s", path.c_str());
diff --git a/selfdrive/loggerd/logger.cc b/selfdrive/loggerd/logger.cc
index a73fefb8c..81cfd131f 100644
--- a/selfdrive/loggerd/logger.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/loggerd/logger.cc
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
+#include <ftw.h>
 
 #include <cassert>
 #include <cerrno>
@@ -266,3 +267,15 @@ void lh_close(LoggerHandle* h) {
   }
   pthread_mutex_unlock(&h->lock);
 }
+
+int clear_locks_fn(const char* fpath, const struct stat *sb, int tyupeflag) {
+  const char* dot = strrchr(fpath, '.');
+  if (dot && strcmp(dot, ".lock") == 0) {
+    unlink(fpath);
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+void clear_locks(const std::string log_root) {
+  ftw(log_root.c_str(), clear_locks_fn, 16);
+}
diff --git a/selfdrive/loggerd/logger.h b/selfdrive/loggerd/logger.h
index bdda9d691..e85d7810e 100644
--- a/selfdrive/loggerd/logger.h
+++ b/selfdrive/loggerd/logger.h
@@ -96,3 +96,4 @@ void logger_log(LoggerState *s, uint8_t* data, size_t data_size, bool in_qlog);
 
 void lh_log(LoggerHandle* h, uint8_t* data, size_t data_size, bool in_qlog);
 void lh_close(LoggerHandle* h);
+void clear_locks(const std::string log_root);
diff --git a/selfdrive/loggerd/loggerd.cc b/selfdrive/loggerd/loggerd.cc
index 40065b585..e3444f331 100644
--- a/selfdrive/loggerd/loggerd.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/loggerd/loggerd.cc
@@ -149,18 +149,6 @@ void encoder_thread(LoggerdState *s, const LogCameraInfo &cam_info) {
   }
 }
 
-int clear_locks_fn(const char* fpath, const struct stat *sb, int tyupeflag) {
-  const char* dot = strrchr(fpath, '.');
-  if (dot && strcmp(dot, ".lock") == 0) {
-    unlink(fpath);
-  }
-  return 0;
-}
-
-void clear_locks() {
-  ftw(LOG_ROOT.c_str(), clear_locks_fn, 16);
-}
-
 void logger_rotate(LoggerdState *s) {
   {
     std::unique_lock lk(s->rotate_lock);
@@ -190,8 +178,6 @@ void rotate_if_needed(LoggerdState *s) {
 }
 
 void loggerd_thread() {
-  clear_locks();
-
   // setup messaging
   typedef struct QlogState {
     int counter, freq;
diff --git a/selfdrive/loggerd/loggerd.h b/selfdrive/loggerd/loggerd.h
index b3e45adfa..448927ff8 100644
--- a/selfdrive/loggerd/loggerd.h
+++ b/selfdrive/loggerd/loggerd.h
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 #pragma once
 
-#include <ftw.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 
 #include <atomic>
diff --git a/selfdrive/loggerd/tests/test_loggerd.cc b/selfdrive/loggerd/tests/test_loggerd.cc
index d84185cbb..849b350ee 100644
--- a/selfdrive/loggerd/tests/test_loggerd.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/loggerd/tests/test_loggerd.cc
@@ -91,3 +91,21 @@ TEST_CASE("trigger_rotate") {
     REQUIRE(frame_id == start_frame_id + encoder_seg * (SEGMENT_LENGTH * MAIN_FPS));
   }
 }
+
+TEST_CASE("clear_locks") {
+  std::vector<std::string> dirs;
+  for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
+    std::string &path = dirs.emplace_back(LOG_ROOT + "/" + std::to_string(i));
+    REQUIRE(util::create_directories(path, 0775));
+    std::ofstream{path + "/.lock"};
+    REQUIRE(util::file_exists(path + "/.lock"));
+  }
+
+  clear_locks(LOG_ROOT);
+
+  for (const auto &dir : dirs) {
+    std::string lock_file = dir + "/.lock";
+    REQUIRE(util::file_exists(lock_file) == false);
+    rmdir(dir.c_str());
+  }
+}